Primetime is an upcoming American crime thriller film directed by Lance Oppenheim in his narrative feature film debut. Based on the 2007 Esquire article "Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die", the film follows the production of the reality television series To Catch a Predator. Robert Pattinson stars as series host Chris Hansen, and also serves as a producer. Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers play supporting roles.

The film will premiere at the main competition of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2026, where it will compete for the Golden Lion. It will be released theatrically in the United States on September 25.

Premise

In 2006, Chris Hansen sets out to make television history as the host of To Catch a Predator.

Cast

Robert Pattinson (left; pictured in 2025) plays Chris Hansen (right; pictured in 2021)

Production

In October 2024, it was announced that Lance Oppenheim would make his feature film debut with a script by Ajon Singh, with A24 financing and distributing, featuring Robert Pattinson and Ari Aster as the film's producers; Pattinson was also rumored to star as the film's lead, but was not confirmed. The project's plot was vaguely identified as "a journalist who takes on an underworld of crime and changes television forever", with unconfirmed speculation alleging it to be based on Chris Hansen's show To Catch a Predator. The film's connection to Hansen and To Catch a Predator was officially confirmed in May 2026, when A24 released the film's teaser trailer and first poster revealing Pattinson playing the role of Hansen. The film's accompanying logline gave the year the film was set as 2006, which reporting publications recognized as the same year Bill Conradt committed suicide, which contributed to the show's cancellation. Oppenheim stated that much like how his documentary films Some Kind of Heaven and Ren Faire explored themes of power within The Villages and Renaissance fairs respectively, Primetime would explore power dynamics within the realm of broadcast television. Speaking on the film, Oppenheim remarked:

I think thematically, a lot of the ideas of power and how power is obtained and how power is maintained and what happens when you have it, and what happens when you don't have it, I think these are kind of constant. They're perennially fascinating subjects, but I think I like looking at that lens and kind of applying it to, whether it's the Renaissance Fair or The Villages [in Some Kind of Heaven] or broadcast television with the film I just made, I think there's a lot of overlap with a lot of the subjects.

Singh adapted the film's screenplay from the 2007 Esquire article "Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die" written by Luke Dittrich, which detailed the circumstances behind Conradt's suicide and the botched To Catch a Predator sting operation that attempted to confront him. When profiled by Variety as part of their "10 Screenwriters to Watch" in October 2025, Singh cited Primetime as the most personally impactful project he had worked on thus far.

Principal photography began in New Orleans under the production title Bluefin Tuna in early February 2025 and concluded by March 28. On March 11, Pattinson was spotted on set filming along with purported co-star Phoebe Bridgers. In September 2025, Skyler Gisondo was revealed to be part of the project. Ari Balouzian composed the film's score.

Chris Hansen was not involved with the production in any capacity.

Release

Primetime is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on September 25, 2026, after premiering at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. In April 2026, Indian streaming service Lionsgate Play announced that Primetime would be part of its initial batch of theatrical-first releases in September 2026. The film will release in the Benelux on October 29 and in France and Germany on September 23.

Reception

Response from involving parties

When asked about the film after its teaser was released in May 2026, Chris Hansen said, "they reached out to me this week, and I've been asked not to talk about it a great deal at this point." In an interview after the first trailer was released in August, Hansen said he was not involved in the film's production, saying the filmmakers reached out to him the day before the teaser was released, and he was reserving judgment on the film until he saw it. Of the trailer, he said: "It looks very dramatic. I know [Pattinson] is a popular actor, and I know the director is a popular guy. I also have some questions: What's Hollywood's motive here?" He went on to say Pattinson's portrayal as shown in the trailer "[looked] almost vampirish". Hansen added that he had once written his own biographical screenplay and expressed a preference for Denis Leary as the lead.

On Jesse Watters Primetime, Hansen said a lawyer from A24 asked him before a private screening of the film to sign a contract that would "take away his name, image, and brand, essentially, as well as any potential legal rights that would come out of the movie". Hansen refused to sign it after speaking with his lawyers and chose not to see the film. A source close to A24 told Deadline that the agreement was a standard non-disclosure agreement (NDA) signed by preview audiences to prevent spoilers and protect the studio's intellectual property. Hansen, however, attested that David Osit, director of the 2025 documentary Predators, did not have to sign an NDA before he saw Primetime, before further adding the NDA also included an agreement not to take legal action against A24 for his depiction in the film, and that he was consulting with lawyers for recourse.

Hansen has purchased pre-show advertising for every theatrical screening of Primetime. The ads show Hansen in a kitchen like the ones seen in his sting operations, asking the audience to "take a seat" before directing the audience to his streaming service TruBlu. Hansen reportedly wanted to end the advertisement with the disclaimer that Primetime is "a Hollywood fantasy version" of true events, but was advised against this as it might prompt legal action by A24.

See also

External links